People who Judge

One thing that bugs me about so-called photo critics, is when they dismiss an obviously good photo, snubbing their nose at it by declaring something like, “Anyone could have made this photo, given its location. The photographer didn’t have to work for it. It was placed right in front of them.” Here’s an example of my point.

I made this photo in Alaska last August. We were in Prince William Sound, on a high speed sightseeing boat, with people like me all lined up, essentially looking at the same thing. Yup, the composition was handed to us. We didn’t have to work for it. Does that diminish the beauty of the scene? The remoteness and expansive beauty around us? Hardly. Now, to my next photo.

I took this image on a wooded trail near the center of the city of Martinsville, VA just before Christmas. Clearly NOT a special location. I did, in fact, have to “work” for the shot, because colors varied widely by where I was standing. The manner in which the artist decided to lay out the various components of the metal painted sculpture, so colors were affected by sunlight and angle of view was unique. It made for a nice photo. But, there’s no way I can compare it equally to the one I made in Alaska. True, one was put right in front of me. The other I had to work for. But please, don’t dismiss one over the other by judging its worth using that criteria. I might add I’m also weary of photo purists who too often conclude, “The photo was obviously retouched in post processing to make it look better than it probably was.” How do they know what it looked like originally? They weren’t there, I was.

Concluding, I must explain I’m coming off a very miserable bout with the good old Common Cold with its assorted wheezing, snorting, aches and pains. I am thus in a ranting mood this Friday. I’ve had my rant, and I feel better. Now let’s all go out and about wherever we can, and make photos. Just for the fun of it. Cheers,